Recently, as recording media for recording various kinds of data such as image data, dynamic picture data, audio data, and text data, for instance, CD-R (Compact Disk Recordable), CD-RW (Compact Disk Rewritable), and DVD (Digital Versatile Disk) have come into wide use. Many of such recording media has a data side on which data is recorded, and a label side on which a label image is drawn to visually confirm recording contents such as a title of the music represented by the voice data, and a name of the composer for instance, the label side being opposite to the data side.
As a method of drawing a label image on the label side, there are known, for instance, a method of indirectly drawing a label image on the label side in such a way that a seal, on which the label image is printed, is affixed to the label side, and a method of directly drawing a label image on the label side by the use of an ink jet printer and the like. Moreover, recently, there are proposed a recording media having a recording side on which data is recorded with light, and a label side on which a label image is drawn with light, and an apparatus for drawing the label image on the label side of the recording media.
As a method of reducing the user's load in the edit of such a label image, the following methods are proposed. For example, there is proposed a method in which two or more image parts to be used as a material of the label image are stored beforehand in a predetermined database in association with various types of data, and when data is recorded on a recording media, image parts, which are associated with the data in the database, are combined in a predetermined layout, so that the label image is edited (for example, Japanese Patent Laid Open Gazette TokuKai. 2005-276313). Moreover, there is proposed a technology that a recording media, on which data representative of the catalog and the like, is used as a visiting card (for example, Japanese Patent Laid Open Gazette TokuKai. 2005-248882). According to this technology, a label image, in which image parts such as company names and person names are combined in a layout of the visiting card, is printed on the label side.
According to the technologies disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid Open Gazette TokuKai. 2005-276313 and Japanese Patent Laid Open Gazette TokuKai. 2005-28882, the user's load is reduced in the point that a label image is automatically edited.
However, the later technology is concerned with a restricted technology that the recording media is used as the visiting card. Accordingly, this technology involves such a problem that it is impossible to simply apply the technology to editing of various label images. On the other hand, the former technology can be applied to editing of various label images. However, the former technology involves such a problem that the label image, which is edited in a previously determined layout, is not always preferable in the points of the easiness of information to see and externals on the label side.